Share this article

Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Thursday promised to provide high-speed Internet access to half the country within three years, after a report showed that Italy has the slowest connections in Europe.

"Italy is behind in developing high-speed internet and this is a priority for the government," Letta said, calling for "a strong acceleration" by Internet operators and the government to increase access.

A report published this week by the US consultancy Akamai found that Italy in the third quarter of last year came 48th among countries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in terms of Internet speed.